FBM KLCI tipped to trade range-bound after recent gains

BURSA Malaysia is expected to trade range-bound this week while taking a breather following recent gains, in line with global equity markets, a dealer said.

The FBM KLCI broke the key 1,600 mark on Tuesday, sustaining its rally and reaching a two-year high.

Rakuten Trade Sdn Bhd equity research vice-president Thong Pak Leng said the FBM KLCI’s long-term outlook remains positive, driven by strong corporate earnings, cheap valuations, and substantial support from foreign investors

“While we anticipate a temporary pause in bullish activity after such a strong surge, the index remains positioned above all exponential moving averages (EMA).

“The upward trajectories of the 20-day and 50-day EMA indicate that the KLCI is consolidating with a positive bias,” he told Bernama, adding that the index is anticipated to fluctuate within the 1,600 and 1,620 range this week.

In the meantime, Bursa Malaysia breached RM2 trillion in equities market capitalisation on May 7 for the first time and continued to ascend before edging lower on May 9.

“Foreign investors continued to accumulate Malaysian equities this week with daily inflow from May 6 to 8, before recording a minor outflow on May 9. On the regional front, Malaysia is the only country that attracted sustained foreign net buy from May 6 to 8,” the exchange said in a note on Friday.

On a Friday-to-Friday basis, the FBM KLCI increased 11.08 points to 1,600.67 from the previous week’s 1,589.59.

For the week just ended, turnover advanced to 24.57 billion units worth RM16.89 billion against 16.1 billion units worth RM13.43 billion in the preceding week.